The Data-Backed Case For Lime-S Electric Scooters In San Francisco

Electric scooters offer cities a powerful mobility solution -- one that has the potential to dramatically reduce traffic and improve urban transportation.

But does the data back up the claims?

As the U.S. leader in smart mobility solutions, Lime takes our responsibility to answer this question seriously. In fact, it was the driving force behind a recent survey we sent out to a randomly-selected group of 7,000 Lime riders in San Francisco.

In it, we posed some important questions intended to help us better understand how the team at Lime can work together with residents and city officials to facilitate safe and responsible scooter use.

Earlier, we shared the results of this survey in a letter to the City of San Francisco. We’re happy to do the same here to help insert clear, meaningful data into a critically important discussion about urban mobility.

USING ELECTRIC SCOOTERS IN SAN FRANCISCO

Since launching in San Francisco, Lime riders have taken over a ¼ million trips on Lime-S electric scooters covering more than 300,000 miles

The corresponding offset in airborne pollutants is equivalent to 280,389 lbs CO2 saved

TRAFFIC REDUCTION

Over 60% of respondents said that their Lime-S ride replaced a trip by car (either personal automobile, rideshare or taxi)

RIDING SCOOTERS ON THE SIDEWALK

A large majority of Lime-S users (over 65%) ride mostly on the street

Those who ride sometimes or mostly on the sidewalk do so because they feel that it’s safer

Nearly 3 out of 4 respondents said that protected bike lanes would significantly increase their likelihood of riding on the street

DEMAND FOR SCOOTERS

An overwhelming majority of respondents believe that San Francisco’s 1,250 market cap on Lime-S electric scooters is too low

Accordingly, over 50% of respondents said that they were only able to locate a scooter about half of the time when they wanted one

USING SCOOTERS TO ACCESS PUBLIC TRANSIT

Consistent with numbers we saw in December’s Year End Report, 40% of respondents said they used Lime-S scooters to facilitate rides to/from BART public transit stations

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

To ensure we respect local values and stay in compliance with city laws, Lime has committed to hiring a team that is at least 90% local to San Francisco

At Lime, we’re dedicated to transparency and industry leadership. We look forward to continuing our work with San Francisco -- along with cities across the US and Europe -- to improve first and last mile transportation for everyone.